审查
作者：Bradford Lee Eden
发布日期：2025 年 3 月 19 日
发布日期：2025 年 3 月 19 日
| 等级： | ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ |
|---|---|
| 标题： | 统治中国的女性：六世纪的佛教、多元文化和治理 |
| 作者： | 斯蒂芬妮·巴尔克威尔 |
| 观众： | 大学 |
| 困难： | 中等的 |
| 发行商: | 加州大学出版社 |
| 已发布: | 2024 |
| 页数： | 260 |
本书以引人入胜的方式讲述了中世纪早期中国一位女强人的崛起与衰落。尽管作者的结论充其量只是理论上的，因为有关凌志的可靠信息非常有限，但揭示有关她的现有知识是一项了不起的成就，读起来也很有趣。
本书详细介绍了中世纪早期中国的情况，包括公元 6 世纪佛教的传入及其对世界政治和文化的影响。在这个变革时期，北魏时期（公元 386-534 年）有一位女性崛起，拥有权力和影响力，但至今仍未为历史所知：凌太后（公元 528 年去世）。凌太后的姑母释僧知（公元 516 年去世）是宣武帝宫廷中一位颇具影响力的尼姑，她将十几岁的凌太后带入宫廷，成为皇帝最宠爱的妃子。她的儿子孝明以童子之身继承了宣武帝的皇位，其母凌太后摄政直至成年，凌太后谋杀了他，以便自己继续统治。这本书记录了凌太后在 528 年被谋杀以及她政权的曲折变化。
本书以有趣的方式讲述了中世纪早期中国一位女强人的崛起和衰落。
第一章描述了北魏及其都城洛阳（位于黄河流域）的历史和社会背景，以及凌迟的兴起和该地区佛教的发展。第二章翻译了《魏书》中凌迟的传记。该书成书于公元551年至 554 年间，写于凌迟死后约二十五年。书中还讨论了文本中的政治偏见，特别是关于女性掌握政治权力，以及文本如何成为凌迟生平的不可靠见证。第三至第五章记录了凌迟的生平，从她卑微的出身和佛教在该地区的发展，到她姑母在朝廷中升任皇帝顾问。作者还认为，凌迟的姑母非常清楚，她将凌迟告上宫廷时，利用了佛教经文中女性统治的先例，并讲述了凌迟实施的各种情节动态和文化转变，最终导致她被谋杀。为了自救，她只好剃发出家，但这并没有阻止她垮台，数千名朝臣被杀，尼姑庵里的尼姑也被强奸。北魏王朝在凌氏被谋杀后不久就灭亡了。在结论部分，作者汇集了凌太后留下的各种历史和文化信息，这些信息与佛教、女性和性别政治的影响有关，以及凌氏的遗产如何为中国历史上最著名的女性武则天皇帝（公元 624-705 年）提供了榜样。
Stephanie Balkwill 是加州大学洛杉矶分校中国佛教学助理教授。她的书以引人入胜的方式描述了中世纪早期中国一位女强人的崛起与没落。书的开头提供了两张图表，非常有用：一张图表包含了所有剧中提到的人物的简短传记信息；另一张图表是所有主要人物关系的家谱图。虽然作者的结论充其量只是理论上的，因为关于凌的可靠信息非常有限，但揭示关于她的现有知识是一项了不起的成就，读起来也很有趣。
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评论者简介
Bradford Lee Eden 是一位独立学者、图书管理员和 JRR Tolkien 学者。他的详细简历和出版记录可在 academia.edu 上查阅。
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Women Who Ruled China: Buddhism, Multiculturalism, and Governance in the Sixth Century
Review
Bradford Lee Eden
by Bradford Lee Eden
published on 19 March 2025
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Women Who Ruled China: Buddhism, Multiculturalism, and Governance in the Sixth Century
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Title: Women Who Ruled China: Buddhism, Multiculturalism, and Governance in the Sixth Century
Author: Stephanie Balkwill
Audience: University
Difficulty: Medium
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 2024
Pages: 260
This book provides an intriguing and fascinating account of the rise and fall of a powerful woman in early medieval China. While the author’s conclusions are theoretical at best given the minimal amount of reliable information available on Ling, bringing to light what knowledge is available on her is an incredible accomplishment and an interesting read.
This book provides detailed information on early medieval China related to the introduction of Buddhism in the 6th century and its political and cultural influences in that part of the world. During this transformational time, a woman was able to rise to power and influence during the Northern Wei reign (386-534 CE) who up until now has been lost to history: Empress Dowager Ling (d. 528 CE). Ling’s aunt Shi Sengzhi (d. 516 CE), an influential Buddhist nun at the court of Emperor Xuanwu, brought Ling to the imperial court as a teenager where she became the favorite concubine of the emperor. Her son, Xiaoming, succeeded Xuanwu as a child emperor with his mother Ling as regent until his coming of age, at which time Ling had him murdered so that she could continue to reign. Ling’s own murder in 528 as well as the many twists and turns of her regime are documented in this book.
This book provides an intriguing account of the rise and fall of a powerful woman in early medieval China.
Chapter One describes the historical and social contexts around the Northern Wei dynasty and its capital city of Luoyang in the Yellow River valley related to the rise of Ling and Buddhism in the region. Chapter Two provides a translation of the biography of Ling as contained in the Book of Wei (Wei Shu), compiled between 551 to 554 CE and written approximately twenty-five years after Ling’s death. The political biases in this text are discussed as well, especially on women holding political power and how this text is an unreliable witness to her life. Chapters Three to Five then document her life as known, from her humble beginnings and the rise of Buddhism in the region to her aunt’s ascension in the imperial court as an advisor to the emperor. The author also argues that Ling’s aunt knew exactly what she was doing when bringing Ling to court using precedence in Buddhist texts for rule by women as well as recounts the various plot dynamics and cultural shifts that Ling enacted that eventually brought about her murder. As a last resort to save herself, she shaved her head and became a Buddhist nun, but this did not stop her downfall along with the deaths of thousands of her courtiers and the raping of nuns in the imperial nunnery. The Northern Wei dynasty did not long survive Ling’s murder. In the Conclusion, the author brings together the various threads of historical and cultural information which survive around Empress Dowager Ling related to the influence of Buddhism, women, and gendered politics and how Ling’s legacy might have provided a model for the most famous woman in Chinese history, Emperor Wu Zetian (624-705 CE).
Stephanie Balkwill is Assistant Professor of Chinese Buddhism at UCLA. Her book provides an intriguing account of the rise and fall of a powerful woman in early medieval China. Two charts provided at the beginning of the book are extremely helpful: one contains short biographical information on all of the dramatis personae mentioned; the other is a genealogical chart of all the relationships of the main characters. While the author’s conclusions are theoretical at best given the minimal amount of reliable information available on Ling, bringing to light what knowledge is available about her is an incredible accomplishment and an interesting read.
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About the Reviewer
Bradford Lee Eden
Bradford Lee Eden
Bradford Lee Eden is an independent scholar, librarian, and J.R.R. Tolkien scholar. His extensive CV and publication record is available on academia.edu.
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Cite This Work
APA Style
Eden, B. L. (2025, March 19). Women Who Ruled China: Buddhism, Multiculturalism, and Governance in the Sixth Century. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/review/517/women-who-ruled-china-buddhism-multiculturalism-an/
Chicago Style
Eden, Bradford Lee. "Women Who Ruled China: Buddhism, Multiculturalism, and Governance in the Sixth Century." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified March 19, 2025. https://www.worldhistory.org/review/517/women-who-ruled-china-buddhism-multiculturalism-an/.
MLA Style
Eden, Bradford Lee. "Women Who Ruled China: Buddhism, Multiculturalism, and Governance in the Sixth Century." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 19 Mar 2025. Web. 19 Mar 2025.
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引用此作品
APA 格式
Eden, BL (2025 年 3 月 19 日)。统治中国的女性：六世纪的佛教、多元文化主义和治理。 世界历史百科全书。取自 https://www.worldhistory.org/review/517/women-who-ruled-china-buddhism-multiculturalism-an/
芝加哥风格
伊登，布拉德福德·李。“统治中国的女性：六世纪的佛教、多元文化和治理。” 世界历史百科全书。最后修改于 2025 年 3 月 19 日。https://www.worldhistory.org/review/517/women-who-ruled-china-buddhism-multiculturalism-an/。
MLA 风格
伊甸园，布拉德福德·李。“统治中国的女性：六世纪的佛教、多元文化和治理。” 世界历史百科全书。世界历史百科全书，2025 年 3 月 19 日。网络。2025 年 3 月 19 日。
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